Blood in vomit & bad vet experience!

[sandy b]

Not sure if I should post this here or in food group since it does involve food. Max had 2 vomits several days apart containing blood. We took him to the vet yesterday. Without taking blood test at this time everything looked OK & fecal was negative.
Max has a sensitive stomach and if he varies from his diet he will have loose stools. We were bad and gave hm ice cream twice and dh gave him bacon at breakfast Sunday. We explained this to the vet & he said a lot of his patients come in for same (food) reasons.
So, he gave Max an injection of Dexamethasone and we were told no food for 24 hrs. Then we were to feed him purina en plus 250mg Metronidozole.
I asked if we should give Max a probiotic and he got really testy and said he thought probiotics were a bad thing! I then asked about feeding chicken & rice & he said your problem was giving him different foods & proceeded to recommend purina en!! Obviously we need to find a new vet. This guys attitude sucks! How dare I question him!!
Since Max had the injection should I get a probiotic?
Should I give him the Metro?
He did have diahrrea yesterday evening , should I try pumpkin?
I will start him on rice & chicken today but not sure how much to feed. Max weighs 30 lbs.
And when do we start him back on kibble (Orijen)?
Thanks for any advice.
UPDATE: Max appears to be doing OK. He has been eating a combination of boiled chicken, sweet potato, pumpkin & yogurt. Yesterday I started adding kibble (Orijen), small amount. Throughout he has never lost his appetite and energy levels normal. I so appreciate everyones suggestions/advice.

[Holly Paterniti]

I am so sorry to hear about this experience :(  You definitely need to find another vet.  I am going to tell you out of experience, I would DEFINITELY put your fur baby on a probiotic :)  We are having the same sensitive stomach issue with our non-doodle (schnauzer), who is a rescue.  Prior to us adopting her, the vet the rescue had used had told us there was a good possibility she had colitis because of the bouts of stomach issues we had with her. 

As for your fur baby, I would stop giving him any table scraps and any dairy at this time.  I would start off with chicken and white rice when he stops throwing up.  But start slow..........just giving him a few tablespoons at a time making sure his belly could tolerate it.  I would give him the Metronidzole, which is actually Flagyl, which helps to settle the stomach.  I would stay away from adding anything else like pumpkin until the belly is settled.  Do the Metronidzole until there is no more throwing up with the chicken and rice.  I would say keep up with chicken and rice for a good week or two to give the stomach a chance to settle.

After he no longer needs the Metronidzole and he is eating up the chicken and rice with no incident, I would slowly reintroduce the Origens (I feed our doodle and non-doodle the chicken one) starting with only 1/4 Origens and rest of chicken and rice...........keep doing this until he has all Origens.

I have done a lot of research when it comes to probiotics, as I am doing for bladder stone control, I have found the best one (which I use for my non-doodle) is Intelli-flora.  I buy it from PSCpets.com   When you go onto this website, they will give you a comparison of Forti-flora (made by Purina and vets give out) to Intelli-flora (which is made by PSCpets). I have included the chart.

We have had GREAT success with the probiotic and our vet has told us to continue it with her.  We did stop for a little bit to see if her stomach issues would come back........sure enough the problems started back up.  Knock on wood, we have had no problems since :)

I hope this helps????

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Holly, metronidazole doesn't really settle the stomach, it's an antibiotic which has actually caused continuing digestive problems in many of our dogs. It can also have neurological side effects when used frequently or long term.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

You do need a new vet. Absolutely.

 For one thing, an injection of dexamethasone (which is an extremely powerful steroid that stays in the body) should never, ever be given without a good reason. A sensitive stomach is not a good reason. Even JD's specialists never use that except in a crisis. 

However, you don't need probiotics when a dog is on steroids; you use probiotics when a dog is on antibiotics, to replace the good flora in the gut that is being destroyed by the antibiotics. There's never anything wrong with giving probiotics, but you don't need them because of the shot. 

I can't even understand why the vet used steroids, it helps with inflammation or an immune response, but it doesn't sound like Max's problem has anything to do with that. 

Purina EN is the worst of the Rx foods available today. It is the last one that still contains menadione, a dangerous synthetic form of vitamin K that has been linked to serious illness in dogs (and people) and has been banned in Europe. It's garbage, contains no medicine or therapeutic ingredients, and will not cure anything. Read the label, it will make you sick. 

Metronidazole is an antibiotic. It is not the harmless drug that many of us thought it is because the vets hand it out like candy. It should also not be given, ever, unless there is a verified infection present for which it known to be effective. it seems to help when the dog is taking it, but once it's finished, the dog has worse diarrhea than ever, because it has destroyed all the normal gut flora. You must always use a good probiotic when a dog is on Flagyl. I would not use it. 

I'd feed him a mixture of plain boiled white meat chicken (cut up very small) and mashed sweet potatoes. The sweet potatoes are better than rice, much more fiber, and rice can be a problem for a dog who is used to a grain free diet like Max is. You can also give him some yogurt if you like.

That leaves you with the fact that your dog vomited blood twice and you don't know why. A sensitive stomach doesn't cause that. Vomiting, yes. Blood, no. The ice cream and bacon are both very high fat foods and that can cause an attack of pancreatitis. I would watch him closely and start looking for another vet.  

[F, Calla & Luca]

Sometimes vomiting and/ or inflammation might cause a small amount of bright red blood. I emphasize small. A new bevy is a wonderful idea as is eliminating high fat treats.

[sandy b]

F, not sure what small is but there were specks all through it both times. Enough to be concerned. Unfortunately I took him to a new vet and should have trusted my instincts & walked out before treatment!

[F, Calla & Luca]

Speck throughout is small and I would keep an eye on it and find a good, new vet. 

[F, Calla & Luca]

Not bevy, vet : )

[sandy b]

I wondered what bevy was lol. Once we get thru this I think I'll emiminate the bully sticks. Not sure what the fat content is but sure it's high.

[F, Calla & Luca]

I would eliminate them now. They give my dogs loose stools. They are full of calories. I am sure Karen has listed the fat content somewhere. I mostly treat with dried chicken strips which contain just chicken. I get mine from Trader Joe's.

[sandy b]

Yes, I didn't word that very well. The only thing he is getting now is chicken & sweet potato. And I should have said no more bullysticks. Will find something else to chew on in the evenings! Will try the chicken strips. Tks

[F, Calla & Luca]

They are great treats but sadly not real chew diversions. My two gobble them quickly. I break them apart for behavioral rewards etc.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Just for reference, here's a great discussion about pancreatitis and what to look for:

http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/healthandmedicalissues/forum/topi...